Treatment of Car Accident Injuries in Orange County
Injuries caused by automobile accidents are a common and serious problem. Unfortunately, these types of injuries are often overlooked. Surprisingly, most doctors simply do not appreciate the complexity and variety of symptoms that stem from a car crash. Injuries can range from mild self-limited muscle soreness to permanent damage to the brain and spine. Complicating factors is the fact that the severity of vehicle damage has absolutely nothing to do with how much bodily injury can be sustained in a crash.
Car Accident? You Need a Car Accident Injury Specialist
Book Car Accident Injury Evaluation at No Up Front Cost to You
What Happens to Your Neck in a Car Accident
Let’s take a typical rear-end collision for an example. You are sitting stationary in your vehicle looking straight ahead with your foot on the brake and your hands on the steering wheel looking straight ahead. This is the ideal body positioning. Now let’s suppose a driver behind you is not paying attention to the stoppage in traffic. So rather than stopping behind you, the driver runs right into the back of your car.
The striking car delivers kinetic energy into your car. Some of this energy is absorbed by the crumpling of the vehicles, sound, heat and even light energy released from the impact. The rest of the energy travels through the vehicle and into your body.
Because your body is sitting in the car seat, everything from your butt up to your shoulders are pretty much at one with the seat. So, when the car is struck, your vehicle is forced forward, including your seat.
Surprising Events During a Car Crash
However, your head is not supported by anything. It’s as if it is floating in space atop your neck. When your body and seat are forced forward, your head stays in the same relative position so your body is being shoved forward underneath your head. Thus causing shear forces on your neck.
We used to think that accidents caused our head to snap or whip backwards, hence the term “whiplash.” Of course, we now know the head actually stays where it was for fractions of a second while the body is moved forward.
At some point, milliseconds into the impact, your neck is placed in a very dangerous and damaging configuration. It is changed from a normal backwards “C” shape to an “S” shape. As a result, when that occurs, ligaments, discs, joint linings and nerves can become damaged. Initially, all of these events occur before you are consciously aware! By the time you are aware you were struck your body and head have already moved and all you are conscious of is the sensation of your head being jerked.
Understandably, you will swear that you heard and felt an impact and that your head flew forward. Nevertheless, thanks to modern crash research we know that you are just unaware of the events preceding your head moving forward.
Injuries Associated With Car Accident Whiplash
- Muscles become over stretched and are strained
- Ligaments are overstretched and are sprained
- Discs become over stretched and tear
- Joint surfaces become compressed and damaged
- Bones may become compressed and fracture
- Nerves are stretched, damaged and become inflamed
Additional Injuries from Car Accidents
- The brain is shaken and the tissues can develop microscopic tears and hemorrhages
- Shoulders, arms, knees and legs can become strained, sprained and may hit the interior of the vehicle causing contusions (bruises)
- If the airbag deploys, the hot chemicals can cause burns of the arms, the airbag itself can cause contusions of the face and chest and injury to the brain
- Shoulder harness may cause sprains, bruising and fracture of the breast bone or ribs
- The lap belt can contuse the abdomen and in severe collisions, internal organs can be injured
So, it’s plain to see these are serious injuries and many of them do not show up immediately and can remain hidden if your doctor doesn’t know what to look for.
Orange County Chiropractic Treatment of Auto Accident Injuries
Undoubtedly, chiropractic treatment has been found to be the best treatment option for automobile accident injuries. For example, studies prove that chiropractic relieves pain and results in less disability than other treatment methods. (1) Car accident whiplash is more than just sore muscles. In fact, muscle pain after a car accident usually resolves in a few days to a few weeks. >Hence, pain beyond that is due to joint, ligament, disc or nerve damage. Definitely, make no mistake, car accident whiplash is a serious injury. (2)
Stages of Auto Accident Injury Treatment
Treatment for car accident whiplash or brain injuries is centered on healing damaged tissues and rehabilitating the alignment, movement and strength of the spine. First, treatment begins as relief care to calm down painful spasms and inflammation and progresses to active exercises to regain strength and realign the spine. Secondly, it’s important to follow through a progression of treatments from pain relief to rehabilitation to insure your spine is fully recovered from the effects of the car wreck.
Other Whiplash Tests and Treatments
If your exam shows you have suffered more than strains and sprains, your doctor may refer you to have an MRI or other type of imaging to make a proper diagnosis. Similarly, you may also be referred to other specialists, who will treat alongside your chiropractor such as orthopedists, neurologists, pain management physicians, neuropsychologists and more. The goal is to make sure your injuries are properly and completely addressed.
Permanent Injuries Caused by Car Accidents
Unfortunately there are upwards of 50% of car accident injuries that are permanent. Disc and ligament injuries can remain even after the best of care. It’s just the nature of the tissue that is damaged. Our bodies regrow muscle and bone tissue without any problems. We cannot however, regrow disc, ligament or tendon tissue. These tissues can be repaired to a degree, but will never return to 100%. Undoubtedly, this is where a car accident injury specialist comes in. They know how to document these injuries and make sure you are properly compensated.
Chiropractic Car Accident Injury Specialist in Orange, CA
Unquestionably, Dr Barry Marks, Chiropractor is a leading car accident doctor in Orange County, California providing expert chiropractic car accident injury treatment in Orange.
Dr. Marks has logged thousands of hours in post-doctorate specialty training in orthopedics, neurology and specifically in car accident whiplash and brain injury. In addition to his years of specialty training, Dr Marks has provided expert car accident whiplash and brain injury care since 1986. For over 30 years he has focused on these painful and difficult cases.
In Short, for the best possible treatment of your condition and the best possible outcome of your case, a specialist in car accident whiplash injuries is your best bet.
Injured in an Orange County Car Accident? Call (714) 938-0575
Dr. Marks Will Expertly Guide You Through the Process
____________________________________________________
Archives of Dr Marks’ previous posts
References:
(1) Woodward, Cook, Gargan and Bannister (1996) “Chiropractic treatment of chronic ‘whiplash’.” Injury 27(9): pp. 643-645.
(2) Teasell in Spine: State of the Art Reviews: Cervical Flexion-Extension/Whiplash Injuries, Hanley & Belfus, September 1993, p. 360.